Tim Flanagan's Blog, page 3

Stone Circles – When Will the Ancient Mysteries Unfold?

Stone circles are mystical and mysterious – the perfect setting for a story. In The Moon Stealers and the Quest for the Silver Bough I use a stone circle as the location for an ancient portal that connects to another world. While archaeologists have been able to discover what many ancient structures were used for, there… Read More

The Bank of England – Interesting History and Architecture

In The Moon Stealers and the Everlasting Night a band of survivors have relocated themselves inside The Bank of England. I chose this as a location purely from the security point of view. The survivors needed somewhere they could be safe while they organised themselves before moving to try and build a new community that… Read More

MI6 London Headquarters – Vauxhall Cross

In the Moon Stealer series, one of the locations I use is the iconic MI6 building on the edge of the Thames in London. I try to use real life locations in my books and this is certainly an unusual and imposing building to include in a story! The headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence… Read More

British Museum – Architecture and Design

The British Museum in London is an important setting for part of the story in The New Savants. The architecture is a wonderful mixture of old and new and well worth a visit. The British Museum has been a source of interest to both British nationals, and foreigners, since it opened its doors in the… Read More

Runic Magic – Symbolic Objects

For more than a thousand years, runic symbols with magical properties have been inscribed unto objects to make them more powerful. Small items stamped with these were carried around for good luck, protection and general well-being. Runic charms were also carved into wooden and metal amulets to ensure peace and prosperity, as well as larger… Read More

Fairies – Supernatural Friends or Foes?

Legends surrounding fairies have been passed down by written, and verbal means, for thousands of years. The term is now used to describe supernatural beings that perform specific tasks. In each society, other names have been used for fairies, such as the moira in Ancient Greece and the fata in Ancient Rome. These beings were… Read More

Druid Oaks – Legends of the Trees

There’s something magical and wise about ancient woodland and some of the oldest trees in Britain which is why I used them in the final Moon Stealer book (The Children of the Light). Nature has a way of fighting back. There are several ancient forests that are found in Britain, and within them there are… Read More

A Crash from Space – Meteorites that Land on Earth

What would happen if a meteorite landed on Earth that contained alien bacteria? That’s the starting point for my Moon Stealer series. Todays blog post is all about Meteorites. Most of the particles that enter the Earth’s atmosphere are sections of comets or asteroids that have broken off, and survived the journey through space. Approximately 90%… Read More

The King, The Lady and The Sword – How Arthur Received Excalibur

The Arthurian Legend’s are very interesting, so this weeks post is all about the origins and history of the most famous of swords – Excalibur. Described as being clad in shimmering white robes made from the purest samite, The Lady of the Lake appears in several of the stories that are told about the reign… Read More

Sherlock Holmes – Investigating with Intelligence

Readers of my humorous Lawrence Pinkley detective storys will know that he always uses the Sherlock Holmes books as text books to help him learn the skills to be a better detective. Today I thought it would be nice to take a look at Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation. Modern day Sherlock Holmes re-enactments depict him exclaiming,… Read More